700 Scots jobs face axe in third round of closures at troubled First Quench

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 21:39

NEARLY 700 Scottish job losses were announced yesterday by troubled off-licence group First Quench as part of a third round of store closures.

The 688 job cuts amount to one-third of the total being lost across the UK as hundreds of Threshers, Victoria Wine, The Local, Haddows and Wine Rack branches are due to shut before Christmas.

But administrators KPMG said they hoped some stores could be sold as a going concern.

In Scotland, the 127 closures include 50 Haddows outlets, 11 Threshers, 36 Victoria Wine and seven branches of The Local. They will be among 391 shops to shut by 20 December.

The Wine Rack brand has been sold along with 21 stores, with discussions continuing for the sale of more locations.

First Quench operated some 1,200 stores and employed about 6,300 staff before it went into administration in October after struggling during the recession.

The administrator announced 373 store closures at the start of November, followed by plans for another 381 last week with a loss of more than 3,600 jobs. Liquidation sales are continuing at those stores earmarked for closure, while 247 sites have already shut.

KPMG remains in talks over the sale of more than 100 stores.

However, Richard Fleming, the firm's UK head of restructuring, said: "Unfortunately, despite the initial high level of interest, it remains difficult for buyers to complete deals in the current tough market."

Some deals have been concluded – Venus Wine and Spirit Merchants said yesterday it had acquired 14 Wine Rack stores. The firm is looking to keep on 90 staff working at the shops.

Another eight stores have been sold to SEP Properties, the administrator said.

Mr Fleming said last night: "We also remain hopeful that some of the 391 stores announced today might still be sold as going concerns before the closure process is completed, but with stock now running low in the remaining stores, it has been necessary to make plans to close them."

The Threshers chain was founded 112 years ago by Samuel Thresher.

Whitbread, its owner since 1962, merged the off-licence chain with Allied Domecq's Victoria Wine in 1998 to create First Quench, which was bought by private equity firm Principal Finance Group for 225 million in 2000.